This undated publicity photo released by the Sundance Institute shows Amanda Seyfried as Linda Lovelace in the film, "Lovelace," directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman. The Sundance Film Festival begins ... more

"Lovelace" - a film about porn-star-turned-women's-rights-activist Linda Lovelace - was acquired by Harvey Weinstein's Radius-TWC film production company for a reported $3 million following its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival last week. The film was written by Andy Bellin, the son-in-law of CB Richard Ellis executive vice president Sanford Criner. Bellin, who is married to Sanford and Susie Criner's daughter Kate, recounted his experience selling the film at Sundance in the New York Observer.

"I was called onstage by my great friends and collaborators, directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman. On my way up to join the producers and cast for the Q&A, I caught sight of something-a brief flicker of shadow and shapes-that would take me a few seconds to process.

As I took my place onstage, I realized what I had just seen. It was Harvey Weinstein huddled with our financiers, Millennium/Nu Image, out in the hall, away from all distractions. It was as if I was living the first line of my obituary.

Mr. Weinstein isn't just any distributor. He is an iconic, mercurial embodiment of aesthetic affirmation. He is congratulations incarnate.

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Forty minutes later-before I even had a chance to reach for the champagne tray at the after-party-the news began to spread. We had, indeed, officially been acquired by Radius - The Weinstein Company."

Directed by Oscar-winning documentarian Epstein and Friedman, and starring Amanda Seyfried ("Les Misérables") as Lovelace, the film was based in part on Lovelace's memoir, in which she recounted her entrance into pornography as the star of "Deep Throat," which brought porn to mainstream audiences.

"She was coerced into the porn industry," said the actress, who was accompanied by her mother at Sundance. "Yes, she enjoyed parts of it because parts of it made her feel safe because she was around so many people. But there's so much to say."

Born Linda Susan Boreman, Lovelace died in 2002, but Seyfried spoke to two of her children as part of her research. She said that while she doesn't feel like she has much in common with the pioneering porn star, there are similarities.

"Being in the public eye now, people can make assumptions about me, I'm sure. And no one really knows what's really going on. So I can relate in that way," Seyfried said. "She comes from a place of innocence. And I definitely did as well at one point coming into this business, which is nothing like the porn industry. People try to exploit me all the time. You've got to know your boundaries and you've got to know how to speak for yourself. But unfortunately she didn't have that freedom like I do. She had a husband that literally wouldn't allow her to go to the bathroom without asking."

Seyfried said she took "the responsibility very seriously of portraying and giving her validation and being her voice," especially after meeting her children, "which is why I was so nervous about releasing it into the wild."

Still, she's delighted the film premiered at the annual independent-film showcase.

"I just am so, so happy and proud to be able to say that this is our premiere," she said. "It's here and it feels safe here almost for some reason, I don't know why. Maybe because it's just really cozy and everybody is really friendly."